This phenomenon has placed a greater demand on the role and performance of Customs and Public Service in general.  The performance of Customs is now no longer incidental to, but critical in ensuring that government is best placed to achieve its purpose, goals and objectives.

Customs cannot continue to operate in the same archaic way and therefore in order for the Department to function effectively in a highly professional and competitive environment, senior managers must be equipped to manage the department. 

The Director General of the Dominican Customs Departement,
Lic.Miguel Cocco, and the Permanent Secretary of the CCLEC
signing the Memorando of Understanding.

On April 2^nd, 2009, the Dominican Customs Department (DGA) and the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the use of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Regional Customs Training Centre (RTC) and its e-learning platform for Customs officials of CCLEC members. The MoU was signed by Licenciado Miguel Cocco, Director General of the DGA and Mr Paul Hilaire, Permanent Secretary of the CCLEC headquartered in St Lucia, WI.

The Director General of DGA felt proud of contributing to training programs for Customs officers in the region through the RTC ‘Professor Juan Bosch’ - the first anniversary of which was celebrated on March 2009. On his side, the Permanent Secretary of the CCLEC acknowledged that such a facility will assist in deepening and fortifying cooperation and assistance between CCLEC members from the Caribbean basin including Central and South America. He further announced that the CCLEC academic and training programs for Customs Officials could be implemented in the RTC as early as September 2009. The scope of these trainings is wide and covers topics from Customs management and modernization to fight against smuggling and illicit transnational trafficking.

Under the auspices of the CCLEC, the French Customs Caribbean Headquarters organized the 2009 annual seminar of the Caribbean Customs Enforcement Network (CEN) in St Martin FWI from March 18 to 20 of March, 2009.  Attending this event were 28 CCLEC members representatives from the following countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France (FWI), Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines.  

 The CCLEC and France (French Embassy to the OECS, CIFAD & French Customs) were the co-sponsors of the event. This 3-day gathering resulted in a draft 2009-2010 action plan to reenergize the CEN with efforts focused in two major directions:1) Optimizing the use of Internet based technologies and Internet perceived as bringing widely unexplored opportunities while raising challenges related to communication security and electronic data protection,2) Optimizing the of the four Customs officers remotely seconded to the JIO from their home country to facilitate liaison and information sharing within the CEN and agreed international CCLEC partners (WCO, INTERPOL, …).  

The courses will be delivered online by CCES, supplemented by local tutors trained and certified by CCES. The programme will consist of two components namely: Certificate in Customs Management and Executive Diploma in Customs Management.

The Certificate will include: Managing in the Customs Environment; International Trade Terms; Governance & Integrity; Introduction to Government & the Legislative Process and Introduction to Caribbean Customs & Excise

The Executive Diploma will include: Customs Management I; Revised Kyoto Convention I; Managing Operational Activities; Customs & Excise Audit; Accounting for Managers and Intelligence Management in the CCLEC Region.